How To Save A Life

What a terrible, terrible morning and I've never felt more useless in my life.

The weather in Phnom Penh had changed drastically, and "winter" is here. This has rendered the water in the swimming pool - icy cold and swimming in it, whilst sure to wake you up, feels like a thousand knives slicing through your skin. But being the masochistic freak that I am, swam in it, I did - yet again, this morning.

I saw this lady coming into the pool as well. I knew her - as in, knew her to be a member of the gym and also knew her to be somewhat, "not well" in the head. I heard she's not "stable" - but I've always admired her for being rather regular at the gym (even though she doesn't really know how to use any of the machines) - after all, it takes discipline.  The water was so bloody cold, I was fully concentrated on keeping my breathing even and my body moving so that I do not freeze over.

The next thing I knew - some guy was dragging her out of the pool and another guy was running towards the pool. I got out of the water and ran over to see that this lady had .... drowned. Very unfortunately, nobody knew first aid. Not even the gym staff (Welcome To Cambodia). One of the gym members tried to administer CPR on her. She had turned blue on her lips and finger nails.  

Amidst the hoo-ha and everything, I did manage to instruct the gym staff to call the ambulance - surprise, surprise, they never thought to do so and instead - they called the lady's son. We all tried to keep her warm and I could only stand by in shock and cursing myself for not having noticed her earlier. "Please don't die, please don't die," I silently prayed.

She did finally develop a slight pulse, but she hadn't woke up - even until she was bundled into her son's car. I pray for her. I hope she's ok. And I'm really sorry I couldn't do anything about it. My only first aid training had been in school - when I was with the Rangers and the PBSM. I had not felt so useless in my entire life, standing by, watching helplessly and not being able to do anything about it.

Life, as they say, is fragile.
And it certainly would help to learn at least - the basics of First Aid administration, don't you think?
This has gotta go onto one of my Top 10 Things To Do ASAP list.

Hard Rock Hotel Pinktober : Breast Cancer Awareness Celebration

Notice how my new blogsite design template is so matching for this post :)
 

About four months back, I was approached - via my company Nupts & Such by Hardrock Hotel Penang to help them think of suitable ideas for their month-long Pinktober campaign for raising breast cancer awareness. As always, I believe in supporting good causes - in particular those that I actually believe in - cancer / AIDS awareness, poverty, women & children support / sustainability, etc.

Anyway, I did put together a proposal and was mighty pleased with the ideas that I had for the Pinktober celebrations at HRH Penang. And I was even more pleased when HRH came back equally as enthusiastic about my ideas and very soon, it was on towards the implementation.

My partners-in-crime - Cindy & Carolyn implemented the ideas in my absence and they themselves, always supportive of non-profitable causes had a blast working on this project together with Elisa Saw - the MARCOMS Manager at HRH Penang and a host of other kind-soulled vendors who volunteered their time and services for this project as well.

I missed the opening - but I received many text messages updating me on the progress of the event on that day. One particular one was when Cindy told me "The Pink Duckies are selling like hot cakes!" - and I got off my seat and did a jiggy :) I love it when clients dare to dream the same dreams as I and I love it even more when the idea works way above expectations.

I will sadly also be missing the closing - this coming 14th November 2010 and I know we've got some pretty awesome line-up of activities planned for the closing. So for those of you who may have the time - do drop by and show your support to a good cause.

My sense of fulfilment from this project goes to show that sometimes, it really isn't all about the money when we work on something. It really is about just being happy that the project took off and you've helped in a tiny way to make some sort of difference in this world.

The video of the Pinktober opening - click here (voluntary service by Andy Wang Cinematography) will show you how everyone was on the same page with the laughter and the fun that they had. For this - I thank you all from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of HRH Penang and the breast cancer charities - for making it happen.

Here's a big thumbs up to all involved and looking forward to a blast at the closing of Pinktober!

** photos & videos by Andy Wang
Clockwise From Top Left :  Rocking it with band High Society, Models with the Pink Rubber Duckies and Mdm Mui Siew Koon from the National Cancer Society giving her speech

Bali Travels : Part 5 – Returning “Home” to Kayumanis Nusa Dua

13th October 2010

We skipped the breakfast at Tanaya today and went to the beach for our Bakso once again. Mmm… delicious!! Today, we checked-out of Tanaya and will go into the Nusa Dua area and continue our honeymoon at Kayumanis Nusa Dua – once again, thanks to Journeys For Two :)

The pick-up from Kayumanis arrived early and as such, we arrived Kayumanis before check-in time. It was good to be “home”. “Welcome home, Ibu. Welcome home, Bapak,” was the greeting from all the staff who remembered us having our wedding here last year. And imagine our thrill when we found out that they had upgraded us to the honeymoon suite! Whoopeeee!! But because we were still early, we went out to Bali Collection for lunch first and then went back to Kayumanis to our suite. Wow, the suite was really, really beautiful with a private lap pool! Not to mention, a Jacuzzi and a ROUND BED!! I cannot describe to you how fantastic the bed looks – somebody surely knew how to put couples on honeymoon in the mood indeed! We also got a little “honeymoon cake” along with our afternoon tea.

There was a private cabana by the pool and the whole villa was surrounded by water features. We had our afternoon tea right after check-in and then we headed straight for the beach – on the bicycle built for two – unbelievable – this tandem bike is still around! Once again, a few more “Welcome home” greetings by the familiar staff along the way. Despite the 100% occupancy, we barely bumped into another soul at the resort aside from the warm and friendly staff.

MOH & I decided to have a private dinner in the villa for today and after exploring more of the Nusa Dua area, we headed back. The villa was really nice. I wouldn’t have minded if they had given us the same villa as our wedding, but the upgrade was a really nice touch indeed.

Our butler came with our meals and set-up our dining area for our private dinner. Rather than get dressed for it, MOH and I had dinner in our bathrobes – that was truly us – as fuss-free as possible ;) Dinner was great – and I had no idea why, but I ordered the Ikan Java Curry – which turned out to be really quite good. The portions were quite massive too! Guess what? They even made us a miniature cake – which was the same as what we had for our wedding last year. The colour was not right though, but it was the same chocolate cake!

You see, it was very obvious why we chose Kayumanis as our wedding spot – it was because of their impeccably warm and friendly service as well as their attention to the little things which counted. They made sure you felt at home without you feeling that your boundaries have been intruded upon and despite the 100% occupancy, you seem to be their number one priority. This type of service is a rare gem indeed. Not only that – I was always remembered by the staff at Kayumanis as the Bride Who Didn’t Want Flowers (and for the record, still the only bride at Kayumanis who didn’t want flowers) and they knew during the wedding planning that if I were to have flowers, it would have to be calla lilies. As such, a big bouquet of calla lily was in the honeymoon suite. Where do you often find people who remember tiny, insignificant details such as these?

Anyway, …….. there is no reason to continue writing about what happened for the night before bed time – as you can just imagine, this was a honeymoon suite after all! ;)

14th October 2010

I woke up to do laps in the private pool before breakfast. We both went to Kayumanis' Tetaring for breakfast and again, all the “Welcome Home” greetings before breakfast was served. I had the Eggs Benedict and MOH had the Mee Goreng and we shared the Kayumanis Toast. The Mee Goreng – ok, this one tops the list so far as the best Mee Goreng I had for this trip. The noodles were the right consistency and the flavor was just right. Unfortunately, it wasn’t spicy because it was MOH’s order :P

After brekkie, we went to the beach once again and had a swim before venturing out to explore Nusa Dua - especially the Art Market. For lunch, we went back to Kendi Kuning – but I was greatly disappointed that the chef is now a different person and as such, the menu no longer carried the Sate Kambing. We had the Sate Kambing last year and it was so good, I had packed some back to the villa too! Anyway, it was Nasi Goreng and Mee Goreng again before we headed back to the villa. We had a quick dip in the main pool of Kayumanis before we went back to our villa - not to mention lots of "Bali's Next Top Model" photo shoot :P All the times we had stayed here, we had never ventured anywhere near the pool area but since our honeymoon suite was actually right next to the pool, we decided to at least try it once!

For dinner, we went over to Fortuin Café at Jimbaran Bay and we caught a beautiful, beautiful sunset whilst enjoying our grilled prawns, sotong, clams and all. It was strange because the weather in Nusa Dua & Jimbaran was not as breezy as Kuta. In fact, it was humid and stuffy. Where had the breeze gone?

15th October 2010

We got a wake up call at 5.30am (wondering if Kris Wong would agree to this :P) for our Sunrise Breakfast on the beach. Again, it was cloudy and we were not able to catch a perfect sunrise, unlike what we had last year. But we enjoyed our breakfast, the beach, the view and each other’s company before we went back to enjoy more of the villa.

Today, my spirits were a little low, because it was exactly the end of my Bali trip for 2010. I always leave Bali with a heavy heart.

After checking out of Kayumanis, we went to Bali Collection for lunch again. This time, we went back to The Paon – which was lunch venue prior to our wedding last year. I actually did not take the Mee Goreng, but went for the Mixed Rice Set instead – where I had Pork, Fish, Chicken, Eggplant and Lalapan. It was really quite delicious! MOH - Nasi Goreng as usual.

Then we made all the necessary transportation arrangements before we headed off to Discovery Mall Kuta – for me to get a tattoo. This time around, I wasn’t so much as getting a ‘new tattoo’ but merely adding on to an existing one.

My little dolphin tattoo on my right back shoulder was my first tattoo which I did in Australia. After a rather stormy emotional set-back, I had gone to get the tattoo – various reasons – 1) It was small enough so I thought the pain wouldn’t be so painful, 2) It was a dolphin which is my favourite animal and 3) It was a single dolphin because I thought that life for me from henceforth would be forever me, alone, enjoying being single and individual.

However, eversince I’ve been together with MOH (not counting the earlier 13 years as friends before we started dating), there was much enjoyment in being a couple. Our wedding marked the end of my “singlehood”, and whilst I had never planned to get married before, I am now happily married. Which was why I thought, it was time to add another dolphin to my lonely dolphin to mark yet another significant event in my life.

Of course, MOH had funny ideas that if we had a family, I’d be adding baby dolphins to the art and I told him “Anything more than two is a CROWD,” before pinching him :P

The tattoo was not done by Dekdi – which is our regular tattoo artist, as he hurt his back. However, Dekdi’s skilled and talented uncle completed the deed this time around. I like the outcome of it. It’s a pair of dolphins nuzzling up against each other with the ‘bigger’ dolphin seemingly saying “I’ll take care of you!” Nice one.

We hung around Kuta Beach (and discovered a shortcut from the mall to HardRock Hotel!) for awhile more and had more Bakso (I cannot get enough of this because it is so good!) and watched the sunset before our pick-up came to take us to the airport.

And with that, it was bye-bye Bali. Till we see you again!

Bali Travels : Part 4 – Our Honeymoon Begins... With Kris & Debs In Tow

11th October 2010

We woke up for breakfast after last night’s celebration feeling a little groggy and all. MOH & myself checked out of Villa Diana and checked-in to Tanaya on Legian – this being our 4th different hotel in a span of 5 days! Tanaya was a really chic boutique hotel but no frills and no fuss since we would be out all day exploring Bali.

We met up with the gang (Kris, Debs & Cindy) for lunch at Seminyak Square and had lunch at Braga – also one of our favourite F&B outlets that served Nasi Goreng Gila – this should explain why MOH wanted to come back here! After lunch, Kris & Debs headed off for their spa session at Sicilia Spa whereas, MOH & I headed over to Bodyworks in Seminyak – where we had our pre-wedding spa session last year. We requested for the same treatment (in MOH’s words when he booked – “the one with everything, the yoghurt and the bath and everything.”). Ok, for Bodyworks, maybe because I was being biased, I enjoyed the session here more so because there's fond memories for me. But the place looks great, smells great – and of course, you paid a lot for it too.

After our spa session, we were supposed to meet the newly-weds together with Kris & Aunty Debra for tea but they were late – by an HOUR!! Well, MOH & I went around exploring Seminyak and checking out all the villas there – in the plan for re-visiting next coming year. At 6pm, we met up at The Junction and ok, I was a little annoyed that the bride was still sulky – OMG! What happened to happily married?? But as Debs always say “Let her la”…… If all the “zen-ing” from the day before did not work, then, I’m lost as to what would. I was hoping the honeymoon – with all the “rabbit-action” would cheer her up!

After tea, the bride & groom bade their farewells and Kris, Debs and I walked over to Café Bali for dinner. Aunty Debs bought dinner for us and we had an excellent meal in an excellent environment with excellent company.

After dinner, we bade farewell to Kris & Debra as they will depart Bali the next day. MOH & I continued with our exploration of Kuta / Legian at night and I wondered if we were being a tad old when we steered clear of all the pubs / discos and outlets that were playing music that would surely tear your ear drums!

12th October 2010

We had our breakfast at Tanaya before heading out for the beach and hours and hours of shopping. When we got to the Memorial Monument – there was a bit of a crowd and police and media gathered there – and I realized that it was on this exact day in 2002 that the bombings happened. I have to write of this hilarious moment earlier in the trip when Kris, Debra, MOH and I got into the Murano Spa transport and Kris asked to be taken to the Memorial Monument. The driver replied “Oh, at the moment bomb” – and you should see Kris’ face – he turned green – but we were all shocked too for a couple of seconds and then we realized that it was an “England” problem :P

Anyway, we spent a whole day shopping and eating – at long last, I got to eat my bakso by the beach which was really yummy and we did a “walk-through” of the route we took when we had our wedding portraits done – we even found the graffiti wall and a stranger helped take a photo of us! He was amused that we had taken wedding portraits in front of the wall!

We also spent some time on the beach and I went into the waves again. A little boring this time around as only me alone, seeing that MOH had to safeguard our belongings :P We walked around some more and finally settled for lunch at Warung Made’s. After lunch, MOH wanted a massage – again! I accompanied him but I opted for the 45min session instead of the 90min session. Guess what? I got a male masseuse! OMG factor! I was naked except for my panties and the tiny sarong covering my body! Debra would surely pengsan if this happened to her!! Anyway, after I finished, I set MOH a rather difficult task. I told him I would be on the Kuta Beach watching the sunset and he would come and look for me. He said “How do I look for you? There’s so many people!” – and I told him “I have faith that you will find me.”

When I got to Kuta Beach, it was absolutely crowded – the locals and tourists alike parked themselves for a brilliant sunset view – as if they were all waiting for a concert to start. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and there was no sunset. I walked around and waited for MOH. Would he be able to find me? It was getting very dark and I was losing hope. His mobile phone was not working either. Perhaps, this was not such a good idea after all! And just then, we spotted each other, at the beach area in front of the HardRock Hotel surfboard. Serendipity :P

We walked back to Tanaya and showered before heading out to Seminyak for dinner. However, when we got to Seminyak, none of the outlets struck my fancy so we went to the Double Six Beach instead and ended up at this place called The Flying Fish. MOH had the Lobster Nasi Goreng while I had the Seafood Bouillabaisse (no mee goreng on the menu!). After a nice and quiet dinner by the sea, we walked along Jalan Double Six and did a final walk-through of Kuta / Legian. We both decided that for our next trip, we would avoid Kuta and Legian as it was just too congested these days. Maybe a day trip here for shopping but definitely nothing more than that!

Bali Travels : Part 3 – A Really Beautiful Wedding and An Extremely Emotional Bride-zilla

10th October 2010

Kris, Debra, MOH and myself had gotten our attires to match Leticia’s dream wedding theme. In fact, Debs and myself got our outfits made by … of course, who else but Kris / TSO :) Because it was a tie-back for me and heaps of buttons for Debs, we needed Kris’ help to get into our bajus. I was actually thinking to myself – we are such a nice bunch to have for a wedding because we totally immerse ourselves in the excitement of the whole process! From the getting dressed right up to the end! We helped each other get into our bajus and then we took photos before setting-off.

On the way to Sanur, we had our one and only rehearsal for our surprise presentation! We were doing a rendition of Teresa Teng’s “Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Sin” and another of Leticia’s guest was sharing the van with us. We had to bribe her to do two things for us – firstly – DO NOT TELL ANYONE ABOUT THE SURPRISE PERFORMANCE!!! And secondly – please stand up and applaud loudly while shouting "Bravo! Bravo!" after our performance. Hahahahahha. We were desperate since we had no idea where was the repeat, the bridge and not forgetting the fact that Cindy and Connie were not in the rehearsal with us! We will just have to wing it! And then of course, some smart person suggested I do a short intro beforehand which got me all hot & bothered because public-speaking just wasn’t my thing. I’m not going to be able to do an impromptu one so I wrote it down instead. Blimey.

The ride into the wedding venue was a little bumpy with only dirt road taking us there. But upon entering Villa Pushpapuri – the view was absolutely stunning! And we were – on time as usual, but because of the rain earlier, the set-up was delayed. We had fun taking photos and teasing the wedding planning crew! Ok, ok… me again :P

Leticia had really outdone herself and all the two years or so of planning her wedding was showing through all the attention-to-detail she had put into it. My favourite had to be the candy and snack station – and I believe the same went for all her other guests. She had about 30 guests which made it all the more intimate for a wedding celebration. For a small wedding like this, it was worth every effort to personalize it every way possible – and Leticia did just that. There were fun photo stations too as well as fun place cards, etc….

She was finishing her make-up when we all went in to see her and of course – the much talked-about layered wedding gown. She was looking the entire part of a beautiful, beautiful bride. Demure and all – except when she started cursing and swearing as usual :P We took some photos with her and Kris had to 'fix' her baju a little bit (well, it was a tiny piece of loose string!!). In fact, I told him I was offended when he said he didn’t bother bringing a sewing kit when I was getting married and his response was simple “What for? Because you would have happily traipsed in even if you had a big hole in your wedding dress!” It was true. So true. I hadn’t even wanted a wedding dress in the first place! I wanted a sarong and Kris had to tell my wedding planners to keep the sarong away from me until after the walk-in! Leticia and I were truly worlds apart and our friends would vouch for that!

Anyway, the weather was gorgeous after the rain and we were all getting more and more excited to the whole ceremony starting. MOH and myself together with Debs sped-up the set-up by helping to lay-out the favours and programme booklets. Ok, can’t say we sped it up all that much, but hey – we tried!

Finally, it all started. The entire wedding ceremony was really beautiful – which was the most important part. Well, at least to me. Their wedding ceremony was presided over by a priest – who, aside from reading utterly slowly, completely skipped the part about the Lighting Of The Unity Candle which I wrote – cheh! As guests, we showed our enthusiasm and happily sang along with the specially chosen hymns when we felt the choir wasn’t singing as greatly as we did :P Whatever it was, I was hoping and hoping for Leticia the bride-zilla - at the moment of the ceremony - to be freeing her mind from everything else and solely concentrated on remembering the entire ceremony and how she felt. As brides, this is likely to be your once-in-a-lifetime. How worth it would it be if you were cursing the bad sound system or worrying that your wedding cake isn’t displayed properly instead of focusing on the ceremony and remembering every minute of that special moment? How worth it would it be if you finished your wedding ceremony and after a day or two – when recalling the ceremony, it draws a blank in your head? Not worth it. And I believe Leticia knew this too. Just that, her bride-zilla streak was near frenzy levels on wedding day and one could lose sight of what’s important when that takes over! Therefore, I was hoping, for I wanted my friend, my partner-in-crime to remember her wedding day as something beautiful not because of anything else, but for the simple fact that she married the man of her dreams and the love of her life. And of course, we could now share wedding tales and married life, having gone through the whole motion!

But it being October in Bali and that meant the raining season – it poured after the ceremony ended. Most unfortunately, everything laid out for the dinner reception got wet. But for Kris, Debra, MOH and myself, we had already vowed to enjoy – even if we were under the rain so our spirits were still high. But for Leticia, she revealed to me – a different side. One of a cry baby! OMG.

Now, I hated the fact that it rained and all her well-planned details got drenched. And I can definitely understand how she felt – that the rain had ruined what was to be perfection on one of the most important days of her life. When I saw her crying, my heart went out to her. I never wish this upon any brides – not even clients of mine who were nasty. Like I said, you are likely only to get married once. If you want it perfect, it should be. However, sometimes things just don’t go according to plan especially when it comes to nature.

Despite all our efforts, her families’ efforts, in praying and praying for good weather, it still rained. Last I checked, we didn’t control the weather with a snap of our fingers! But you know what? Under these circumstances, it was crucial to focus again on what was important! And with that, I told Leticia that the little bit of rain shouldn’t ruin the day for her! I pointed out that the rest of us were having loads of fun (and I was enjoying my snack cup right in front of her when she started bawling!!) and she should too! And it ought to be a happy occasion because she had a beautiful, beautiful ceremony and she finally got her dream wedding to her childhood sweetheart! You tell me – was marrying the person you love more important on your wedding day or was it more important to have all the pretty wedding things remaining pretty? Simple case, yes?

The rain did eventually stop and Kris, MOH and myself pitched in to help salvage whatever was possible to start the programme for the reception. That’s one of the good things about having good friends in the wedding industry – aside from moral support, they were people who knew what to do to make it work again in situations like these. Not to mention, we surely knew how to keep spirits high! We went in to play the games (yes, those with the very complicated rules, according to Kris!), took polaroids after polaroids and of course, attacked more of the yummy snacks. I was a nut fanatic and was really delighted to see pistachios and macadamias all laid out at the snack station! Ok, basically - I'm a junkie - I love junk food :P

And as per planned, the reception went ahead and the wedding programme resumed. Her MC – which was also her ‘brides-man’ was hilariously funny and set the mood right for the day and whilst we ate our dinner, we were entertained wildly with the speeches by the bridesmaids, groomsmen as well as the father-of-the-bride who gave a really emotional speech. As always, I believe that weddings should always be one where laughter permeates the air – and this wedding was no different! Finally, our surprise presentation happened (in all honesty, I had planned for something wilder, but because I wasn’t in the country to co-ordinate with the gang, the karaoke would have to do :P) and we sang to our hearts’ content. Hmmm…. If only we could have smuggled the life-size moon and heart along without alarming the bride-zilla :P

Kris, MOH and myself leapt into the pool – and we are now worried that we would have some rather embarrassing photos of us partying too hard – when the pool party was declared started. We had champagne in the pool and the bride came in looking all sexy in her new bod ;) and pink bikini. All in all, it was a really, really fun celebration and what can I say – but hats off to the wedding planning team for pulling this through despite all the set-backs!

And to Leticia & Tjun Hong, congratulations once again. After the 18 years of ‘courtship’ – this DOES mark a new chapter in your lives and may you always live in love.

Bali Travels : Part 2 – Debs Joins In The Fun in Kuta and A Pre-Wedding Dinner at Jimbaran Bay

9th October 2010


After all the face-stuffing last night, I woke up early for a swim at the lap pool. Of course, Kris said he’ll join me and I woke him up half an hour earlier than the agreed time – 6.30am! I rang his doorbell “incessantly” as he puts it, and he grumpily shouted “Who’s that?!” and I cheerily replied “It’s me! Time for morning swim!!” to which he grunted a grumpy “I’ll join you later!!” Laughing at the mischief that I had caused, I skipped to the pool. I was surprised that the water wasn’t as cold as I thought it’d be. After my 50th lap, Kris finally came and joined me and I completed 2.5km before breakfast. I do not know how may laps he did :P After breakfast, I completed another 1.5km to make it a total of 4km for the day – and damn proud of it!

Before you knew it, it was time to check-out from Maya Ubud. Both of us did something really funny at our villas – seeing as we haven’t utilized our private plunge pool during our stay, we all undressed and skinny-dipped in the pool – even if for just a couple of minutes. Oh – Kris did that in his own villa and we did ours in our own villa in case anyone has any funny thoughts.

We skipped lunch and our transport took us straight to the airport to pick Aunty Debra. We arrived 30-minutes earlier and ok, we got bored with the waiting. We had even prepared a placard with welcome details for Aunty Debs. After half-an-hour, I was basically asking every Tom, Dick and Harry who came out of the arrival hall if they were Debra. “Are you Debra? Are you Debra?” – including a gwai lo. Out of boredom, the three of us had conjured up lots of theories as to why our dear Aunty Debs was taking soooo long! But finally, she arrived – grinning merrily as usual.

And it was away to check-in to Villa Diana at Legian which was pre-arranged for the wedding entourage. Most of the wedding entourage stayed here – including the couple themselves before they checked into the wedding venue. This was a really nice little resort hotel and MOH and I got upgraded to the Deluxe Villa!

As usual, we were starving by the time we settled in and our transport took us to the Double Six Beach for lunch. It was close to 4pm by the time we had lunch – but eat we did at Tekor Bali. And then, we took to the beach! Kris and I went into the water and really had damn a lot of fun with the rolling waves! MOH joined us later and Aunty Debra kindly looked after all our belongings. We resumed some of our “Bali’s Next Top Model” shoot here before heading back to get ready for the dinner at Jimbaran Bay.

We were a little bitchy with the timing and our rides – but we did get to the dinner venue – Teba Cafe right on time. However, being early doesn’t have much advantages if everyone else were hell-bent on keeping to Malaysian times :P We waited a good hour plus before dinner. Alas! Dinner was not great for me – the main was ….. fish! But the company was great (not sure about the other tables, but we had great people at our table!). Cindy and Connie finally joined us here and lots of catching up and sharing stories and tales – since Cindy & Connie both had been out with the bride & groom the whole day for their wedding portraits session.

After dinner, we all (all, meaning the younger crowd) went over to Ku De Ta for drinks. Jolly, jolly me – alcohol it will be since not training for the week! Kris, Debs, MOH and myself didn’t stay long at Ku De Ta. After lots of photos, we decided to call it a night.

10th October 2010

With Debra around to keep him company, Kris had automatically moved breakfast hour to 8.30am. Fine, MOH and myself adjusted to that too and after breakfast, we had a quick tanning session to get some glow for the night’s festivities before we headed out to Murano Spa.

Since the Boreh was highly recommended, MOH & I went with the Boreh as well. Now, I’m not a spa person because sitting still for a long period of time gets me restless and fidgety. Hardly relaxing at all for me. Well, the couple’s room at Murano wasn’t smelling fantastic – especially as soon as I placed my face into the hole. Oh dear. How am I going to endure 1.5 hours of this? That wasn’t the worse – the stuff they used for the Boreh was also not smelling fantastic – it was like minyak cap kapak to me – which I absolutely detest. OMG factor two. I tried to close my eyes and think good thoughts but the smell kept playing havoc with me. Needless to say, I was wishing for time to fly! Of course, whilst I was squirming in my hot wrap, MOH was snoring away and I also learnt later that Kris and Debs had enjoyed their session as well. They are all spa kakis!!

After the highly un-enjoyable spa session (for me), we hit the extremely ‘macet’ Kuta/Legian stretch for shopping and lunch. We bought Crumpler bags and stopped at Oey for lunch. After lunch, it was a rush back to Villa Diana to get ready for D-Day!!!

Bali Travels : Part 1 – A Much Anticipated Trip with New Travel Mates

After more than a year’s wait, we have finally arrived in the month of October, which marks our annual trip to Bali. This year’s trip, would be different in so many aspects – new travel mates, a destination wedding where I get to attend as a guest (FINALLY!) and a small anniversary celebration for MOH & I.


The first part of the trip would actually be Kris, MOH and myself – with Debra joining us later. While MOH planned the itinerary (with some approvals from me, of course), there were much worry about traveling with friends whom I had never traveled with before. The usual thoughts – would the itinerary be suitable? How easy-going are we all? Would there be awkward silences? Would there be too much PDA (on our part that is!)? Would some feel left out? Ohh… the list goes on. I'm sure all of us have had our fair share of Travel-Zillas!! :P

Well, the worrying all amounted to nothing. As Kris put it – to be good travel companions, when one says “follow your itinerary”, they follow through and have fun instead of following-through and bitching about it. I guess it is important that the group you travel with are in-sync somewhat – always prepared for adventures and always ready to explore something new. Most importantly, is keeping an open-mind and with that, keeping options opened and using the itinerary as a guide (so we do not miss all the good food places!!) and not something to abide by strictly!

Kris & Debra proved to be really great travel companions (and hoping they feel the same about MOH & I!). They were sporting and conversations never ran out. I think Kris and I had a bit more of a “crazy streak” – as in, we really did let ourselves go during the holidays – taking endless photos (much to Debra’s annoyance!), eating non-stop (more me than Kris), rolling around in the giant waves at Double Six Beach… basically, just making sure we had 100% fun. We’ve worked hard and this is time to de-stress, yes? Of course, Kris wasn’t so impressed with the 6.30am wake-up call for a morning swim nor the “power walks” – I will never hear the end of this! Anyway.....

7th October 2010

Kris, MOH and I touched down in Bali and was promptly greeted by Agung, our driver who would be ferrying us to Ubud. The ride was uneventful but of course, spirits were high since we had only just arrived and we had more than a week here! Hooray! Bali had always been a favourite spot for MOH and I, simply because aside from all her charms and the extremely warm and friendly locals, here was where we fell in love, had our first kiss and coming full cycle – held our wedding. We make it a point to get into Bali at least once a year.

We arrived Ubud Inn at around 2.30pm. The Ubud Reader’s & Writer’s Festival was on-going when we arrived and I was disappointed that I would be missing it even though I was right there in Ubud. Nevermind, there’s always a next time! This also explained the full-house situation for almost all the resorts in Ubud! After checking-in we were starving! We took a walk out to The Laughing Buddha for lunch and agreed that lunch was good – because we were so hungry. After lunch, we immediately got down to business – SHOPPING! We went to the Ubud Market and finished our souvenir shopping right there! Talk about efficiency! For some reason, time just flew by when we were shopping and by the time we took a long walk back to the hotel, it was almost time to get ready for our dinner. But of course – there’s ALWAYS time for a quick dip in the pool.

The pick-up service from Warung Murni came to pick us up for dinner. At Warung Murni, we ordered the Sate Lilit for sharing and I had the Mee Goreng while Kris and MOH both had the Nasi Goreng. Kris soon discovered that MOH was the Nasi Goreng King while I was the Mee Goreng Queen. Almost every meal – as long as it was on the menu, we’d order the same thing. Not for the lack of trying other stuff – but I love noodles and I especially love the Indonesian noodles so I am going to eat as much of those as I can whilst here!! So far, for this trip, Murni’s Mee Goreng turned out to be the 2nd best. You’ll have to read on to find out who served the best Mee Goreng for me this time around. By the way – I do not order my Mee Goreng as it is. It is always “tak mau sayur, tapi Cili banyak-banyak!!”

Our plans to get to the Gianyar Regency night market was scrapped due to rain. We ended up asking the driver to drop us off at Jalan Hanuman instead. We strolled the streets of Ubud under the light drizzle and found a place for desserts – Buntute, where we had cakes and drinks and listened to a Bob Marley lookalike doing his thing on stage. After that, it was back to Ubud Inn for much needed sleep!

8th October 2010

I woke up really rather early and I went out for a morning walk by myself while the two boys continued snoozing. The air was crisp and cooling and it was a really nice walk because the entire town was still asleep! I came back in time for our breakfast at 7.30am (again, a timing which to Kris & Debra was murderous!) at Ubud Inn. The spread was simple – which augurs well because it meant that we could eat more for our mid-morning tea! After brekkie, we walked to the Ubud Market again – this time to get garlands for Leticia and Tjun Hong – the soon-to-be-wed (of course, at the time of this article, happily married already!) as we were meeting them and their entire jing-bang at Ibu Oka’s for lunch. We customized two lovely, lovely garlands for them.

More window shopping and as we anticipated, a stop for mid-morning snacks at this place called Kafe. The ambiance was really quite nice and the cakes were not bad. I even had a scoop of the Sesame Ice-cream! Yums. Then, we walked back to Ubud Inn. Here’s where it got rather interesting – while passing Monkey Forest, I was robbed – by a bloody huge monkey. I was just only warning Kris and MOH to guard their belongings as the monkeys would likely snatch them when this huge-ass monkey came charging at me. Within seconds – he had snatched one of the garlands away and I was left there with a torn plastic bag! Oh – Kris and MOH just stood there laughing :P Well, what to do? The groom will have to go without the garland then :P I picked a bunga raya from Ubud Inn for the groom instead. That will have to do!

Leticia’s entourage arrived a lot earlier than the agreed plan so we hurriedly checked-out from Ubud Inn and joined her at Ibu Oka’s for lunch. It was really too packed and honestly, the babi guling here wasn’t that great – at least not for me or MOH. So far, the best babi guling we had in Bali was still the one served at our wedding in Kayumanis. Juicy, tender and flavourful! Anyway, after more photos, photos and photos, the bride & groom had coffee with us (this would be the 4th meal/drink break within half a day already!!) and after catching up some, Kris, MOH and myself left the lovebirds to do their thing while we left to check-in to Maya Ubud Resort & Spa.

The resort was ….. lovely! However, I can’t say the same about the service. It just lacked….. the personal touch. And it wasn’t nice to keep guests waiting for a room without notice – even after the room was ready! But I guess, running back-to-back 100% occupancy can do that to you so perhaps, it was just our luck. By the way – this stay of ours – where Kris and ourselves had one villa each for one night is courtesy of Journeys For Two – the Managing Editor and the Editor were clearly enjoying the fruits of their labour!

Without wasting much time, we walked over to enjoy the Jungle Luxe poolside. This was really rather breath-taking and the views were serene. For anyone wanting a wedding surrounded by lush nature, this should be the spot! Anyway, we all had a great time at the pool – which also marked the start of our “Bali’s Next Top Model” photo shoot session for the trip! *grin*. Let’s put it this way – we were all on a holiday and we were all not camera-shy – as long as the photos do not fall into the wrong hands! (FB here we come!!)

Afternoon tea was served at the Terrace and I went a little overboard with the cakes as after all that swimming and posing, I was starving!! We walked around the resort for a little bit before going back to our separate villas to enjoy the facilities there. The bath tub was huge – which was great. For some reason, MOH and I always enjoy our “deep meaningful” chats whilst in the tub.

Dinner for us was at Bebek Bengil’s – and we were not disappointed at all with our food. Cripsy Duck as well as Bebek Bertutu. After dinner, we took a 25 minute drive to Gianyar Regency to venture the local night market – Pasar Senggol. For all of us, this was our first time in Gianyar and this was pigging-out final round for the day. It was really gluttony when just right after dinner, we still had babi guling, sate lilit, sate kambing, fried chicken and bakso at Pasar Senggol. OMG indeed!! The babi guling – I have to say – was the best!!! So it had officially knocked the Kayumanis’ one off the top position now. Gianyar is said to be famous for its babi guling and for people who traveled into Gianyar and left without trying the babi guling, it is said that they hadn’t been to Gianyar! The bakso was good, the sate was good…. Mmmmm….. YUMMY.

MOH and I are really pasar malam junkies and wherever we travel to, we always love venturing into the local night markets. We know here is where the best local food can be found – as long as you have a strong stomach for it! Of course, I was delighted that Kris was as much a pasar malam foodie as I was!! This Gianyar trip was well worth it and glad the weather was favourable!!

After Gianyar, it was straight back to the villa for our second night in Bali – in a second hotel in two days.

Truly Grateful To The Owners of Shabu-Shabu, One Utama

Last Saturday night, I had a family dinner with my parents and my in-laws as well as bro and my soon-to-be sis-in-law at Shabu-Shabu One Utama. This was prior to our departure the next day back to da Penh.

Upon returning home and doing the final packing, to my horror, I realized that I had left my camera behind at the restaurant. In a panic frenzy, I called the restaurant - but alas! At 11.30pm, it was already closed and no one was picking up the phone. My brother even so kindly went all the way back to the restaurant and also announced that it was closed.

Along with the camera, would be all the photos taken of my recent Bali trip for Leticia & Tjun Hong's wedding and as well as my little anniversary-cum-honeymoon celebration with MOH. I couldn't believe how idiotic I was. After tossing and turning the entire night crying over all the memories, MOH took me back to One U first thing in the morning.

I called the mobile number available on the "Waiters Wanted" Ad displayed at the entrance. Lucky for me, the owner, Karen picked up the phone. I told her of my predicaments and she rushed over. They were not yet opened at that time, seeing that it was before 10am. After much waiting, two of the staffs arrived and I bombarded them about my camera. They claimed not to have seen my camera. Apparently, all lost & found items were always kept and returned to customers. When Karen and hubby came, they did a quick search and a few phone calls to their managers and all came back zilch.  

Thankfully, thankfully, they had installed a CCTV system in the premises and Karen and hubby were kind enough to view the footages from the night before to see if they were able to trace the whereabouts of my camera. Viewing the images a la CSI, I kept wishing I could say things like "Can you enlarge this image?" At the very least, I could do a 'pause' and rewind :P Strangely though, the CCTV captured me using the camera and placing it on the seat and when we left, it even showed MOH doing a final check to ensure we did not leave anything behind. So where could the darn camera be?

At this point, I was already bracing myself for the entire loss. It was not so much the camera but the photos - those were precious! I suspected it fell off the chair and we did not notice it. Stranger still, the footage continued, showing the staff doing the clearing and cleaning of our table and yet - NO CAMERA found!
I was near tears and just as I was about to give up, MOH said "Let's watch the entire thing till the end.". Karen and hubby happily obliged our request and allowed us to view the footages right up till lights-off for the outlet.

And there it was - the footage of one of the staff, suspiciously ensuring nobody was around as he bent down to pick something off the floor and deftly put it into his pockets. I knew it!! I knew the camera must have fallen to the floor! We alerted Karen and hubby immediately and without missing a beat, Karen pulled out the employee file and called the said employee. She didn't mince her words with him either - "You come now. You have taken customer's camera. You bring it back NOW. Customer is waiting. We can see it from the CCTV."

I was worried that the guy would run away with the camera or just simply not show up. But Karen gave me her word. She said that she guarantees a safe return of my camera. I told her I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, I just wanted the photos back. I don't really care for the camera (not quite true either considering it was a new camera, but at that moment - let's prioritize right?!). Twenty minutes later, the guy walks up to me and returned my camera, with some lame excuse about safe-guarding it for me. I didn't care! My camera and my precious, precious photos were all there!!

I'm really grateful to Karen and hubby, for obliging, for helping and most importantly, for ensuring the return of my camera. I would say not many stores would simply allow anyone to view their CCTV footages without a valid reason (warrant :P) and mine was simply based on the fact that I was "cock-sure I left the camera on the seat!!". Even to the extend of obliging us by letting us view the entire footage from start till closing!

So for all my friends reading this, especially to the wedding entourage who went to Bali recently - especially Kris - please go and show support to the restaurant by having a meal there. Well, it is already always packed and reservations are preferred for dinner times - but still, it'd be a nice thing to do (by the way, my family is already a regular at the restaurant!) for such understanding owners.

The food is simple and you can have your own choice of broth. The hot pot is served individually. I would personally recommend the Pig Stomach & Pepper broth (YUMMY). Or else, go with the Chicken Yellow Wine broth. Whichever broth you take - the "Mix Your Own Sauce" buffet concept will enhance all the flavours of your shabu-shabu.

Once again - I extend a heartfelt gratitude to Karen and hubby. Hooray Shabu-Shabu! Hooray CCTV!